Pierogies for #SundaySupper at the #FamilyDinnerTable

Sunday Supper is all about bringing families back together around the dinner table. That’s why I was so excited to learn about American Family Insurance’s Back to the Family Dinner Table Campaign!

American Family Insurance is having a “Share Your Recipe” sweepstakes for 6 weeks with a weekly prize is a $100 Williams-Sonoma gift card plus a grand prize of a $500 Williams-Sonoma gift card!
For details on this contest and to enter visit American Family Insurance at Back to the Family Dinner Table .

As part of this campaign, I wanted to share with you one of my own favorite recipes that mean so much to me. An old family recipe passed down from my Gram to my Mom then to me. It didn’t stop there. I passed it on to my daughter and granddaughter.

That dish would be… Pierogies!

Pierogies are little dough “pants pockets” that you can stuff with just about anything! Wait let me clarify that last statement! Pierogies have many names and depending on your nationality, these little dumpling relatives take on a variety of fillings.
I’m Pennsylvania Dutch, which means I have an Eastern European background and we make ours with potato and cheese, sauerkraut, sautéed cabbage and onion, and occasionally ground meat.

What makes pierogies different from boiled ravioli, pot-stickers and other pasta based dough pockets is that we boil it first then sauté in butter or deep fry.

These little treasures were my first working with pasta dough experience.

There’s an art to making homemade pasta. My Gram used to say, “You need to know how to make ‘em with your eyes shut!” Old school.

That’s because there is a certain feel to the dough depending whether you’re making pies, pasta or bread. It’s a hands-on thing we pass down in our family. No dough machine can teach you the techniques.

We all learned as kids. I’m not sure if it’s because as children we’re more receptive to getting our hands in there and “playing with our food” or because teaching the little ones is a great excuse for us to play in dough too!

Maybe dough isn’t your forte. That’s okay; we all have something special we do in the kitchen that we can pass on to our kids. If not food preparation maybe a cooking technique, setting a table, food shopping or even storage like where to put and find things in the kitchen and why it goes there.

By involving your family in preparing meals you give children ownership of skills they will use throughout their life. Your family becomes an intricate part of the meal.

I hope I can do justice to explaining the pierogie process with words and pictures!

Pierogies
Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1 cup reserved

2 large eggs

1/2 cup water

4 cups potatoes, peeled, cubed

1 medium onion, sliced

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Cheddar or American cheese

salt, and pepper to taste

Filling:
To make filling, cover potatoes with water and boil for 10 minutes, add onions and continue boiling until potatoes are fork tender. Drain.
Return to pot, add cheese and mash. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Set aside to cool.

Dough:
In a large bowl, add 3 cups flour, make a depression or “well” in the center and add the eggs.

Slowly add water a little at a time, working into the dough as needed.
Knead dough until soft and slightly sticky.
Cover bowl with damp towel and let dough rest 15 minutes.
Sprinkle some of the reserve flour over the work surface and lightly coat hands and rolling pin.
Divide dough into thirds and roll out until about 1/8-inch thickness.
Sprinkle reserve flour as need to keep from sticking. Use sparingly or excess flour will toughen dough.
Dip a 3-inch diameter drinking glass, donut cutter or biscuit cutter into reserve flour. Cut out dough circles.

To assemble:
Scoop about 1 teaspoon of filling onto the center of the dough circle.
Lightly wet the outside edge of the dough with water. Fold the dough over the filling.
Wet the edge of the outer rim of the dough.
Start at one end and begin pinching the edge of the pocket shut. Be careful to keep filling off the seam. Seam should be about 1/4-inch wide. You can seal the seam with a fork if desired.

Remove pierogies with slotted spoon to a colander. Rinse with cold water to prevent sticking. Drain. Move to waxed paper to thoroughly cool.
You can then eat them as is, (I even like them cold as a snack, weird I know) deep fry them, sauté in butter with onions like below which is my favorite way, or freeze them for later!

Here’s my favorite version:
Add butter to skillet. Place pierogies and onions in single layer.
Fry over medium-high heat until brown on one side, flip and fry to brown other side.
Enjoy!

Check out all our recipes and ideas for American Family Insurance’s Back to the Family Dinner Table Campaign from the Sunday Supper Group!

This post is sponsored by American Family Insurance. All opinions are my own.

Join the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter each Sunday.We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm EST. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. Check out our #SundaySupper Pinterest board for more fabulous recipes and food photos.

Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement?It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here → Sunday Supper Movement.

I’m from Pennsylvania also so we always had pierogies growing up! There are actually multiple pierogi stores in Pittsburgh. Growing up my great aunt Kay made the BEST piergoies ever. It was such a treating going to her house once a month to eat them. Since her passing my dad has taken over pierogi duty and his are awesome as well. I finally got to help him make them last year for the first time. Aren’t they the best? Your recipe looks very similar to my own. Frying the pierogies with onions and butter is the best!Hezzi-D recently posted..Chicken Crescent Squares #SundaySupper #FamilyDinnerTable

I absolutely love pierogies and can seriously go to town on them! I loved it when mom would occasionally make them for breakfast and err by make I mean buy the packaged ones and boil/pan fry them up! I just attempted homemade ones myself and the dough could definitely use some work, I think I’m going to try your recipe next time!Susan recently posted..Sour Cream Coffee Cake #SundaySupper #FamilyDinnerTable

I can only imagine the fun times in your family’s kitchens making pierogies. I haven’t attempted making them yet, however now that I have your wonderful instructions it is certainly being bumped up on my to-do list.Renee recently posted..Meatloaf for #SundaySupper #FamilyDinnerTable

Wow, perfectly made! How fun that this recipe and technique has been passed down through so many generations. I finally tasted my first pierogies a couple summers ago…and I should really try to make my own Liz recently posted..Straw and Hay Pasta #SundaySupper #FamilyDinnerTable

These look absolutely amazing! I love pierogies but – buy the frozen ones – one of the only pre-made things I serve in this house….because I didn’t have a good recipe for them. Thank you so much for sharing this!!!Constance @FoodieArmyWife recently posted..Hungarian Goulash | #SundaySupper #FamilyDinnerTable

Oh man, Cindy – your pierogies look stellar! I can feel the love in this post. Thank you so much for sharing this family tradition and recipe. I have never made my own pierogies (for shame)…but I love them. Exactly the way you do – sauteed with butter and onions. I also love them to be a little golden and crisp in spots. Oh man, I am so hungry!Heather @girlichef recently posted..Green Chile Chicken Tortilla Casserole {#SundaySupper: #FamilyDinnerTable}

I love Pierogies!! and especially love that this is a family recipe passed down from your grandmother. . and you passed it on to your daughter and granddaughter. Seriously, how awesome is that?! I love this!Alice // Hip Foodie Mom recently posted..#FamilyDinnerTable: Veggie Mac and Cheese for #SundaySupper

I had never heard of pierogies until a few years ago. My mom bought some of the frozen ones. I would love to try making them on my own. As I’m sure they would be much better.Lane @ Supper for a Steal recently posted..Spanikopita

Beautiful pierogies! Pierogies were more of a staple than bread for my husband’s family growing up, but I had never had them until we were married. We’ve tried making them once, and I loved them. Now I have a craving!Sarah | Curious Cuisiniere recently posted..Oriental Burritos for a #FamilyDinnerTable #WeekdaySupper